Five Years of Misunderstanding
by miriam01
Summary: It's Christmas season and Hermione has no reason to be jolly. The man she loves just fired her as a worker and she's not even able to apply for the job of girlfriend. But overhearing sometimes leads to good things.Hermione/Charlie.Joan/Bill will be posted
1. Chapter 1

AN: Hello everyone, this is my first Hermione/ Charlie story and my first "smut" so I'm sorry if it sucks. This was originally for the Granger Enchanted christmas challenge but I DIDN'T finished it on time. This is a two chapter fic so I hope you follow. Joan is a made up character and Harry Potter doesn't belong to me. Even though I wished he did. Please review and I hope you enjoy.

Charlie Weasley was an idiot and she was a bigger one for believing in him.

_We're just not right for each other_, he says.

'Yeah and I'm still a virgin'. And okay technically she was but that wasn't really the point.

_What an asshole._

Her eyes traveled over the Three Broomsticks, which was decorated with Christmas lights and a Christmas tree near the back, looking for her curly haired friend. Her eyes landed on a far corner booth where a broken hearted Hermione Granger sat surrounded by Harry Potter and all the Weasley's except one, or as Joan liked to call him the asshole.

She walked toward the booth taking off her Gryffindor robes and nodding her head at the people she knew from school. She neared the table and smiled when Hermione looked up. The Weasley's nodded their head at her as she sat across from them.

She though it was sweet how all the Weasley's were supporting her friend instead of groveling to the Asshole.

It was the youngest Weasley and the only girl in the large family that broke the awkward silence.

"So what should we do about Charlie?" she asked as she lay a supporting hand.

The whole group stayed quiet some wondering what she meant, others like Joan…Okay so only Joan, were patiently waiting for an opportunity to rip out his guts.

Ginny looked around looking exasperated and said, "Bloody hell people! We have to do something about Charlie and his lapse in brain function. We can't let him waste this opportunity with the greatest woman on earth like Ron did!" she exclaimed as she got as red as a tomato.

Personally Joan though that someone with her hair coloring should not be able to turn that red but whatever.

While someone said, "Yea…. (cricket) hey I did not waste my chance, there was just no attraction between us."

The whole table rolled their eyes at his lame excuse… Yeeeeeeah, talk about de Nile.

"Well personally I believe that we should feed…" began Joan but she was promptly cut out by eight red headed glares. A resounding no was heard from Hermione who looked angrily at her.

"Okay we could castrate……"

"No"

"We could tie him to a drag…"

"No"

"Place him under a bus…"

"NO"

"Cover him with bulbadox powder!"

"N-O"

"Well you guys are no fun. How are we going to get his attention then?"

William, the older hot one, rubbed his forehead and answered with an exasperated sigh. "Anything will do as long as it doesn't cause him bodily harm."

Joan pouted in a way that made Bill wander how those juicy lips would feel around his co…wow backtrack she was seventeen and he was a pervert.

He almost had a heart attack when Hermione said, "Yes!" and wondered if the Brightest Witch of her age could actually read minds, but was quickly able to determine she meant yes to his previous statement.

Fred and George kept quiet for a second pondering on how not to cause bodily harm to their brother when a grin broke out from them both and an imaginary light bulb could be seen doing summersaults around their heads. Joan looked curiously at them and then began to grin herself.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking Gred?"

"I believe I am dearest Forge! How about you Joan of Arc are you in with it?"

Joan giggled as the twins made a motion of swinging ax and answered, " Oh I'm definitely in Stooges."

The nicknames had become a form of affection between the three from when Joan had worked in their joke shop to help pay for her studies. She remembered how exited she had been living in Chicago, Illinois with her foster mom when she had received the Hogwarts acceptance letter. Everything had made sense. She finally knew where she belonged. The dream had been almost shattered when the cost of school had come in. If it hadn't been for Hermione who had a charity that provided scholarships for the underprivileged muggleborn children she would probably still be living in one of the worst neighborhoods in Chicago. She owed Hermione her life and it was a debt she was going to repay.

"Okay so here's what we were thinking, we make Charles have a little "accident" and Hermione takes care of him," Fred.

" As time goes by Charlie sees the horrible mistake he made by breaking up with you," George.

" And fall totally completely in love, a quick engagement, short wedding, and an accidental pregnancy to keep him tied to you for life," Joan.

Percy looked up from his file's and shook his head wondering why on earth he was there when he could have gone home to his wife, Penelope.

Molly and Arthur looked at the three grinning people and wondered how Joan and the twins weren't related. They couldn't help but laugh at the hopeful faces on the three. But knew it wasn't going to happen. First because they weren't about to hurt Charlie and second because bringing a child into the world for selfish reasons wasn't a good way to start a marriage or raise a child.

Hermione looked at the sky as if saying, "Help me Merlin!"

And answered, " For the last time no. First because WE don't want to hurt Charlie in any way. Second, because I will not bring a child into this world for my own selfish reasons and third because he did not break up with me. We never truly dated. We slept together once. And I never truly told him that I was in love with him. I was a coward. The only thing he did was say that we should stop working together and at twenty five I should be old enough to handle rejection. It's just that… well I felt that if we couldn't be lovers then we could at least be co-workers and I would see him everyday but now I don't even have that option." and tears filled her eyes as she looked lost in her own thought remembering a time long past.

Joan took her hand in hers from across the table and said in a serious tone,

" Look, we never said we were going to kill him or anything. Just maim him a little."

A group of "Joan" was heard and she just lifted her shoulders as if saying, "what?"

" Look Hermione its just an injury and we all know that you're not the kind of person that cares about ones physical appearance. Plus even if you guys didn't date you worked for five years together and everyone can see you are in love with him. How big of an idiot does he have to be not to notice?"

She was about to open her mouth to continue but the faces around her stopped her. The Weasley all looked as if they were waiting for the Third Magical War to begin but it was Hermione's white face and watery eyes that gave her the real clue.

" He's right behind me isn't he?"

* * *

Hermione sat frozen in her seat as Charlie answered with a resounding, Yeah.

She felt blood rush to her face and wondered if she asked nice enough would the earth open up eat her whole. Like it wasn't bad enough that a seventeen year old was trying to give her relationship advice, the man she was in love with now knew of her pathetic love for him when he had just ended their partnership and shattered her heart.

She felt her eyes dropping and lifted her chin proudly.

She wasn't ashamed at her feelings. And so what if Charlie decided that she was some pathetic girl for mooning after him. She was a twenty five year old women. Bloody hell, she could accept the fact that Charlie couldn't love her.

And it was completely unfair for her to blame Charlie of falling in love with him when he had never shown any sign of reciprocating her feelings.

She looked at Charlie wondering how he was going to put her down gently.

The pain in his eyes summed up his feelings. This was going to hurt her as much as it was going to hurt him and the truth was she didn't want to be the cause of his pain. She gathered her robes, purse and wand getting up quickly as the Weasley's around her looked back and forth between their brother and their sister from another mother . And they all really needed to stop hang….talking so much with Joan, her American lingo was getting to them.

Hermione walked out of the booth moving past Ginny and Bill who had been seating at her right.

" I have to go. I'll………….I'll floo you later thank you for the tea and support but I have a lot of work to do."

The Weasley's nodded as Ginny gave her a hug and Joan made an obscene gesture when Charlie turned his back making the Weasley twins give a startled laugh which was quickly covered when their parents kicked them under the table while making a disproving gesture at Joan.

Hermione began walking past Charlie ignoring him as he called her name. She moved with the crowd filled with happy-go-lucky students who were enjoying the beginning of their holiday break. The crowd carried her to the outside of the Three Broomsticks where she put on her scarf and drew her cloak close. She smiled at the carolers and donating 2 galleons to a war orphan's charity. She began heading toward the apparation point passing by Honeydukes Sweetshop and hoping beyond hope that Charlie would just let it go, that he would forget it. Like he had forgotten when they had made love five years ago.

December 24, 1999

_There was a snow storm that made travel by car extremely hard. It was a good thing that the Wizards of England and Scotland were safely tucked at home with their family and some hot coco. Hermione folded her legs under her body and smiled at Teddy Lupin as he sat on his godfather's lap waiting anxiously for his presents. She looked at Harry over Teddy's head and noticed the sad look on his face. Their eyes met and traveled down to the little boy who had never met his parents and would never fully understand how incredible they had been. _

_She noticed Ginny as she walked into the room and sat next to her Harry ruffling Teddy's hair. But it was the second Weasley that caught her attention as Charlie entered the room with and armful of present and smiled prettily at her. She felt a blush come up to her face and took a sip of her coco to keep from embarrassing herself._

_It was so hard keeping her feelings to herself when the man she lusted after was so nice and handsome and charming and … well perfect each time he saw her. At one time she had wondered if all those niceties had meant that he liked her the same way she liked him but she had quickly learned from Ginny that this wasn't the case. Apparently Charlie was dating some blond Romanian girl who not only was beautiful but nice. _

_God she hated these circumstances. And the worst part was she couldn't even hate the girl. _

_She looked up again to see the grinning face of Joan, an American orphan who had been accepted to Hogwarts and who's education was being founded by her foundation, Run Away Love. It was wonderful to see the change that had occurred in the little girl and how perfectly she had fit into the Weasley family._

_She got to her feet as the whole family began to enter the room in order to open presents. Fred and George came in arguing with Percy and a grinning Bill following. Ron entered with his parents and smiled when he noticed all the left over food. He was quickly stuffing his face with the left over turkey. _

_She had to turn when she heard a snort to her left and met Charlie's eyes as he grinned as they both rolled their eyes. Some things didn't change._

_It was another three hours before all the presents were opened that ended with a sleeping Teddy and three very embarrassed people. The twins had decided to give Ginny a sinful red nightie to, as they put it "finally get the ring." It was a blushing Ginny, a stammering Harry, and a red Mr. Weasley that moved on to the next present. From what Joan said later Ginny and Harry were embarrassed while Mr. Weasley was about to rupture a blood vessel._

_It was around one that the house became quiet and Hermione began to feel her head pound. It was at the same time that Charlie asked if she would like him to accompany her home. She had been inclined to say no in fear than in her tipsy state she might say something that she might regret but it was Christmas and she very much wanted to be alone with him that led her to say yes. They apparated to Grodric Hollow where they both owned an apartment ._

_They walked past the statue of Harry and his parents and walked up to her apartment which was the closest one. The wind blew and the streets continued to fill with snow. She felt her stubborn curls come loose as cover her face as they stuck to her mouth. She tried pushing them away but it was Charlie's strong masculine hand that came to the rescue as he place the curls behind her ear. Hermione felt herself begin to blush when Charlie didn't remove his hand and instead moved it to trace the side of her face. She felt herself shiver and wanted to kick him in the shins for doing this to her. She was already half in love with him and the way he was looking at her, as if he wanted to eat her whole wasn't helping. _

_She was about to ask him why he was looking at her like that when she saw his head tilt and lower and felt his lips on her. And felt the most excruciating pleasure and let her arms go around his neck and draw him closer until their bodies were touching and she felt his hardness. She rubbed herself against him and felt him moan as he tightened his arms around her drawing her even closer and deepening the kiss as he entered her mouth with his tongue. They back up into the door and with clumsy hands got it opened._

_Charlie picked her up and she wrapped her long legs around his narrow waist as he kicked the door shut. In a matter of minutes they were in her room and Charlie set her down in the bed as he removed his cloak as well as her own. She panted as he removed his shirt and watched with half-lidded eyes filled with desire. She liked her lips with anticipation as she ran her hands all over his muscle torso. She kneeled on the bed and captured his lips with her mouth moving down to his neck to suck his adam's apple as she ran her finger over his nipples and felt him growl as he lay her down once again and captured her lips. He began to remove her silk shirt throwing it over his head and leaning down to attack her neck as he snaked his hand under her back to remove her lacy white bra, and once again throw the material over his head. _

_Hermione arched her back with pleasure as he closed his warm mouth over her nipple while he rolled the other one between his experienced fingers. His mouth moved down followed the shape of her body and began to unbutton her black skirt along with her matching white panties. Once again thrown over his head. _

_His hand dipped into the v of her legs and opened up her lips as Hermione shifted and opened up her legs giving him room. She cried out when he entered her with one of his thick fingers while another circled her clit. She purred with pleasure as a second and then a third finger entered and the pace intensified until she was a sweating mess reaching the edge. He moved up her body kissing her belly and closing his mouth over her nipple once more while he kept one hand inside her. His mouth claimed hers once more as he quickly removed his pants. He shifted and lay atop of her moaning when she took hold of his member and began to caress it with her delicate little hand while she pulled at his hair to draw him closer. _

_He took her to the edge with his fingers until she reached her climax and she cried out as her back arched and her toes curled. She looked at him while he shifted once more and began to take it slow. But Hermione was a women of the twentieth century and had other hides. With a force she had no idea she possessed , she flipped him over and straddled him. He looked up in surprise and excitement as she moved over his manhood and lower herself onto him. They both moaned and threw back their heads in pleasure once he was fully inside of her. They began to move together and Charlie let her enjoy being in control. It wasn't until the last moments when he felt her tighten that he flipped her over and pushed into her until they both reached a climax._

_They both settled on the bed exhausted and in a few minutes were asleep in each other arms._

_It was seven hours later that Hermione woke up with the rays of the sun to find herself completely alone._

_---_

Hermione moved faster as she felt tears run down her face. She could still hear Charlie following and in a state of panic apparated to her childhood home.

'_I'm such an idiot,' she though as she leaned against the wall of her childhood room._

She began to sob in earnest as she remembered the feeling of abandonment she had felt that morning and the pain of a broken heart when later as she had looked out her window into Charlie's apartment she had seen him in the arms of his blond girlfriend.

_AN: So what do you think. Please review. Much love._


	2. Chapter 2

**Author Note: Hello everybody who has been reading my stories. Thank you to all who have reviewed and added me to their alert list. Once again I wish to apologize for not updating sooner but the truth is I have no time. School(like always) is driving me crazy and my extra curricular programs leave me very little time to sit down. And I have been diagnosed with a serious illness……….(cough) laziness(cough)……..which can be very serious when I want to update. But anyway I just want to say thank you all for commenting and to let you know that everything will become clear very soon since this story is not going to be very long, I would say one or two more chapters. So if I don't update quickly is because my laziness has gotten to me. Hope you enjoy. Much love, Mimi.**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

Charlie Weasley felt like an idiot and a total and complete asshole.

He walked the streets of Hogsmeade having no where to go and feeling a deep emptiness in his soul as he remembered the look of pain in Hermione's face. He could kick himself for the suffering he had put her through.

And he had no idea how to make it up to her how to explain to her how he felt and why he had fired. And he had no idea where to find her. She had moved out of his neighborhood the day after they had been together. He stopped in an alley and leaned against the a wall and slid down to a sitting position. Charlie had never been a touchy feely man but he found himself with his head on his knees and with a incredible desire to break down and cry. Five years had been wasted from a stupid misunderstanding. And he didn't know if Hermione would ever give him the chance to make up those years.

So it was with his head on his knees and his heart throbbing with pain that Joan found him thirty minutes later. She had been looking for Hermione and hadn't noticed the lump in the alley until she had heard a sound of pain coming from it that she had stopped to check if anyone needed help. When she saw who it was her face changed from concern to one of anger.

"I should kick you, you know?"

Charlie lifted his head to look at the seventeen year old girl in front of him.

He let out a deep sigh and said, "Yeah, you probably should. Of course you'll have to get in line after me and all my relatives."

Joan looked down at the defeated man and wonder why if he was the asshole he wanted to kick his own butt and wasn't making any excuses like the rest of the male population.

She looked at him strangely and said,

"Okay, spill what's got you all puppy eyed and with your tale between your legs."

Charlie rested his head on the wall and looked lost in thought,

" Have you ever felt that you messed up so badly and that there is nothing you can do to fix it because you do not have every piece of the puzzle and have no idea what you broke in the first place."

Joan shifted sideways and placed her hands on her hips giving him a look of 'are you for real, boy.'

" Don't give me that look. I know that I hurt Hermione and you have no idea the misery that it brings me but the truth is all these years I seriously thought that she felt nothing but friendship for me and now that I know she loves me I cannot understand why she never told me. We were..um… intimate before you know."

Joan snorted, "Intimate, seriously Charles I'm seventeen and just because I've never been intimate with anyone it doesn't mean you can't say 'sex' near my virgin ears."

"No."

"What do you mean no?"

" I mean no, we did not have sex. We made love."

Joan looked down at him and into his eyes and for the first time that day she wonder if she really had all the facts. She slid down the wall and sat next to him. She looked sideways at him and hoped he wasn't the asshole she believed he was.

" So tell me. What don't you understand? And what's your side to this story?"

And so began Charlie's sides of the five years of misunderstanding.

* * *

Meanwhile at Hermione Granger's Apartment-

Hermione cuddled in her snuggie as she watched Titanic and ate her favorite Dove ice cream. She couldn't help but cry as Rose watched the life of her life die.

"Well, at least he died and did not break your heart after he slept with you and then went on to make out with his girlfriend."

She got a faraway look and then a disgusted looked flashed across her pretty face,

"Merlin, I'm the other women."

And then went back to crying.

Crookshanks, Hermione's ever loyal companion emerged from the depth of some mysterious part of the apartment to be picked up by his mistress and be suffocated as she cried into his feline body.

"Oh Crookshanks, why did I have to go and fall in love with Charlie. You know there are a lot of wonderful smart wizards out there."

A bored meow was heard from the cat. Hermione looked at down at him with a surprised face.

"What do you mean, 'like who' ?"

Meow

"I'll have you know that there are thousands of great wizards out there."

Meow

" Well………..there is Neville! He's sweet, nice, and has that geeky shy look going on!"

Meow

" Crookshanks! Neville is not boring, I'm just not attracted."

Meow

"Well, there is……Seamus, you know he's nice. And then there's Oliver Wood, and Marcus Flint, and…."

Crookshanks continued to look bored.

"………..What about Draco Malfoy? He had that bad boy thing going on and he has changed you know!"

Crookshanks only answer was to draw out a fur ball.

Hermione let a deep sigh escape her, " Yeah, I guess your right there is really nothing there. Merlin, what is with me and the Weasley's!"

Hermione leaned back against her sofa and then an imaginary light bulb went on in her brain.

"That's it. All I have to do to forger Charlie is fall for another Weasley!"

Meow

"What do you mean which one? I think it would be obvious; Percy is married, Fred or George would drive me to an early grave, and things with Ronald did not work out, so the only one left is Bill. He's handsome, and smart, single and…."

Meow

" Crookshanks! Bill is not gay."

Meow

"It doesn't matter if he has a tattoo and earring, he is not gay. I actually think he's attracted to Joan, so he's probably out too."

Hermione put Crookshanks down and picked up her forgotten ice cream and moved on to watch _The Notebook . _Crookshanks for his part jump off the living room table he had been put down on and left to continue to explore the mysteries of Hermione Granger's apartment.

* * *

"And so that's the whole story. So you see I have no idea why Hermione never told me that she loved me after that night."

Joan looked at Charlie and for the first time in a long time felt bad for having wished so many bad things to happen to him. Now that she knew the whole story she understood everything.

"Okay, Charles get up."

Charlie looked at her as if she had gone crazy.

"Don't look at me like that. You aren't going to get Hermione back by spending the rest of you life sitting in a dirty ally, so get up."

"Get Hermione back, I don't even know where she lives. And now that I fired her I can't even see her at work."

Joan took a deep breath and hoped that she wasn't making the biggest mistake of her life.

"I know which is why I'm going to tell you where she lives. My only advice-get her to listen and tell her what you told me."

* * *

Hermione was busy crying her eyes out because Allie and Noah had just died when a buzzing sound came from the security desk of her building.

The voice of her security guard was heard as he said,

"Ms. Granger a Miss Joan looking for you. Should I let her up."

Hermione stood up and quickly threw all the used tissues and the now empty ice cream tub into the waste basket. She pressed a button and said,

"Hello, yes let her up."

She took off the snuggie and quickly splashed her face with some water to make the red of her eyes go down because she knew that if Joan saw her crying she would give her a long lecture on her dependency on a man.

A knock was heard and she walked toward the door while fixing her ponytail as some curls had escaped their confinement.

She opened the door without looking and turned around,

"Hey Joan, you know where everything goes. Make yourself at home."

But it wasn't Joan that answered her statement with a quiet, "Hermione."

She whirled around and came face to face with the man of her dreams, or that precise time the man of her nightmares.

And after everything all she could do was say with a raspy voice,

"Charlie!"

**AN: So what did you think? Was it good, bad, ugly? What could I have done better? I'm sorry if your questions weren't answered but that will be coming in the next chapter so hang on tight. I've decided to do two more chapters. One where the truth is found out and the last one a type of epilogue. Much love, Mimi. Don't forget to review. Muah**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **Hello everyone! I'm finally back and I'm sorry it took me so long to post this chapter but life got in the way. So now that my computer is finally fixed and all my AP tests are over I can finally focus on writing the stories. So this is the explanation chapter. Hope you enjoy and leave a review cause they make me happy. =)

**Chapter 3**

Hermione liked to think of herself as a positive person.

A half-full kind of girl, but sometimes circumstances sucked and turned her into a half

empty, life sucks kind of person.

So when she opened her door and her brain was finally able to process the fact that the person at the other end wasn't Joan but Charlie she had a half-empty kind of feeling.

She schooled her features to take on a blank expression when Charlie gave her that killer smile that show cased his adorable dimples and made her weak at the knees.

"Yeah, probably made the blond bimbo tremble, too" chided in her mind.

It was that thought that enforced her resolve and made her repeat his name, this time with an annoyed tone,

"Charlie!" "How can _I _help you?"

She was proud to note that her voice was steady and showed none of the love and bitterness that she felt for him.

Charlie took a proving look at her and noticed that she had lost weight since the last time he had truly seen her. He couldn't believe how much she had changed. He had forced himself not to look at her in hope that the void inside his soul would disappear. It hadn't.

He couldn't believe how a person could see someone everyday and still not really see them.

He cleared his throat while trying to unclench his sweaty hands.

"I just wanted to talk!" came the raspy response.

His eyes asked for a chance. Hermione begged Merlin for strength.

"Talk?" came the sarcastic reply.

"Talk about what?"

Charlie opened his mouth to reply, answer, explain but was cut off by Hermione's ranting as she turned her back to him and began to pace back and forth.

"Okay, Charles!" He winced at the name. No one called him Charles anyone, well except his mother when she was extremely angry at him. " Let's talk. Let's talk about my stupidity. Let's talk about how stupid Hermione was for sleeping with you, to let you act like nothing had occurred. To keep working with you even when her heart was breaking, to keep loving you while you took everything she had and throwing it away like it meant nothing! Let's talk about the way you fired Hermione, threw her away like a piece of garbage."

Angry tears had began to cascade down Hermione's porcelain skin and Charlie felt like the lowest human being for hurting her so much that she was crying and talking about herself in the third person, which she had only done when her parents had passed away.

"And what have you got to say for yourself. Have you come to put me down gently? Let me know that while I was a good lay once was enough for you…"

She was cut off when Charlie pulled her forcefully against him. Hermione couldn't help but remember the warmth of his embrace and the way his body awakened hers and she hated herself. She hated herself for being weak and stupid and completely pitiful. His voice was low and dangerously angry as he held her close, one arm at her back the other holding her head to the crook of his neck.

"Shut up!" he whispered. "Just shut up."

"I don't want to hear you say all those things that defiled all we shared."

A sarcastic snort escaped Hermione and she angrily pushed him away from him, "Yes, because you making out with your girlfriend defiles nothing of what 'we shared'!"

Charlie looked at her like she had lost her mind and was ready to be shipped to St. Mungo's Hospital.

"My girlfriend?" he seemed utterly and completely lost as if Hermione was speaking ancient Egyptian instead of English.

"I don't have a girlfriend!" came his confused reply.

Hermione folded her hands under her breasts and gave him a rueful look.

"Really, then who was that blonde woman you were kissing the morning after we slept together? Your grandmother!"

And it was then that Charlie had a moment of clarity where everything that had taken place during those miserable five years was explained and he began to laugh. And he laughed so hard that he tears fell from his eyes.

Hermione glared angrily at him. He was laughing like what she had said was the funniest thing she had ever spoken. The nerve of that man. She began to tap her foot on the floor becoming more and more exasperated as he showed no sight of stopping.

And so she did the only thing that a smart, modern, and very angry women would do. She kicked him in the shin. And she couldn't help but smirk when he stopped laughing.

"Shit, you like hell lion what did you do that for?"

Hermione glared at him, " Well I figured it was that or breaking a base over your head. And since I have no wish to get blood on my new carpet it was the only thing I could do to get you to shut up. And if your done laughing at my face kindly take your leave."

Charlie couldn't control the silly grin that appeared on his face and he picked Hermione up and began to twirl her around the room like a rag doll.

Hermione couldn't have been more surprised. Either Charlie was bi-polar or in need of head scan.

Charlie put her down and stared directly into her eyes.

"Is that why you were mad? Because you saw me kissing that women! Is that it?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, "What do you mean is that it? Your acting like I saw you holding hands with your grandmother not making out with your girlfriend the day after we slept together!"

Charlie smiled once again and said in a soothing voice, "Okay, I need you to listen to me. No, don't interrupt until I'm done telling you my side of the story. I want you to listen first and then talk all you want."

He took a deep breath and settled into Hermione's sofa.

"Okay, so the first thing I want you to know is that I wasn't making out with my "girlfriend" but that she kissed me." Hermione opened her mouth to interrupt but a glare from Charlie shut her up. "Now I know that to you it doesn't matter who was kissing who but in this occasion it makes all the difference. I woke up in your arms with a smile on my face and feeling like everything in my life was completely. But there was one problem. I was still suppose to be dating a girl back in Romania even though I hadn't seen her in over five months. So I forced myself to get up and uncurl myself from your body and I went home. My plan was to go home, change, and then send a letter to the girl telling her that our relationship was over. But imagine my surprise when I walk home and there she is, waiting for me to get home. Apparently, she wanted to surprise me for Christmas. And let me tell you I was surprised. But I told her we needed to talk and I explained how I was in love with this smart, wonderful, and beautiful person and that it just wasn't fair for her or for me to continue a relationship when I didn't love her. You have to understand I felt horrible because she broke down and cried and was screaming at me for breaking her heart and I was freaking out. I had no idea how to react to a hysterical female and all I could think was that I wished you were there because you were smart and would probably know what to do and the next thing I know she's hanging on to my shirt and sucking my face off. And she kept saying that we could work it out but all I could think about was you and the night we spent together and how I wanted to spend the rest of my nights with you. And I told her to leave. I mean don't get me wrong I felt like an asshole but I didn't know what else to do and it felt wrong being alone with her when all I could think about was you!"

His eyes had a far away look and Hermione couldn't look away from him because things made sense. She tried to talk but Charlie placed a finger to her lips.

"I'm not done yet. Please just let me finish. So there I was feeling like an asshole for breaking her heart and I remembered that I hadn't even left you a note to explain why I was gone. I rushed to your house but you were gone. The next few days were hell because I couldn't find you anywhere and no one would tell me where you were. And so the days turned into weeks and the weeks into months and I figured that you didn't want to see me and that that Christmas night had not meant to you what it had meant to me and you were trying to put me down gently. And so when I saw you again and you did your best to pretend nothing happened I followed your lead because I would rather have you as a friend than not have you at all. And so for five years I endured. I worked with you when all I wanted to do was kiss you, I treated you as an acquaintance when all I wanted to do was make you my everything. I forced myself to look at you like a sister when all I wanted was to push you against the nearest wall and make you understand that what we had that night was heaven. And finally I cracked. It was a week ago when I saw you laughing with Ron like I couldn't that I snapped. I wanted you like nothing I had ever wanted. I gave up dragons to stay close to you but working together wasn't enough. And to keep from embarrassing myself and begging you to date me at least out of pity."

And then he looks at her and she's smiling and then their both laughing because it's funny even though its not and then the laughter turns into tears and then their both sobbing and kissing and its been five years. Five stupid years wasted over a simple misunderstanding. And so what that wizards live more than a hundred years to them every second was like an eternity.

And the next thing they know Charlie is cupping her breast and Hermione's legs are wrapped around his hips and she's against a wall and their both moaning because they've missed it and when skin touches skin those five years disappear and all they can think about is the right now.

And so they end up in her room in her bed coming together once again.

The cat glares angry at the closed door.

His kingdom had been captured by another red head. And he knew that his days of sleeping at his mistresses bed were over.

He turned and jumped onto the couch where some clothing laid. He settled into his resting place and didn't even get up when the girl they called Joan pocked her head in . He stared at her through narrowed eyes as she did a happy dance when she heard the moaning and quickly rushed out closing the door on her way out.

After all if anyone asked the cat he would say that all humans were odd.

**Author's Note: **So what do you think. It's kind of rushed but I hope you enjoyed it and please review. I might do an epilogue I'm not really sure. You guys let me know.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Author's Note:**__ Well it's finally done. It only took me like seven months but it's finally done. Thanks to all of you who have put up with my procrastination and left reviews to help me along. Finally, the epilogue. Hope you enjoy and review._

**Epilogue**

**December 5, 2004**

It was a carrot invasion.

Joan couldn't describe the Burrow any other way.

It was the first annual family reunion, so the invasion wasn't unexpected. But she couldn't help but stare openly as more Wealey's appeared out of thin air. She felt a smile tug at her lip as she thought of bunnies popping out babies. It was an apt metaphor.

" Man, Weasley women need a hobby."

A deep(sexy) voice interrupted her muttering,

"You do know that talking to yourself is a clear sign of mental illness."

Joan felt her pulse ricochet as she turned to face Bill Weasley. She thought she should be used to his sexy voice and magnificent psyche since she had been working with him at Gringotts since her graduation five months prior.

But no.

Each time she heard his voice or caught even a glimpse of him she melted into a puddle of pudding. It was a good thing she loved pudding or she would be extremely irritable.

Bill smirked as he watched the pretty witch blush,

"I'm guessing Fred and George volunteered you for welcoming duty!"

"Yes sir, I am here to serve your every need."

And she almost groaned when an image appeared in her head on "serving" his every need. And she really needed a boyfriend.

She smiled prettily at him and turned to greet Percy and Penelope and their two month old daughter, Molly. Penelope smiled when she saw Bill, who had remained at Joan's side.

Joan glared at her and moved her along into the Weasley home.

She felt a moment of peace as she remained out side the Burrow waiting for the rest of the family. She tried to ignore Bill, who remained behind her giving off a welcoming heat to ward of the cold December air.

The peace didn't last long as Forge and Gred appeared with their very pregnant wives Katie and Angelina. And she glared again when the two women looked slyly from her to Bill.

Fred and George greeted her with their customary "Joan of Arc" and moved on into the house to greet their numerous relatives.

Ron and Harry followed with their main squeezes, Lavender(who she called Purple) and Ginny. Both girls sported engagement rings and all four sported satisfied smiles. And she couldn't help but be bitter over the fact that everyone she knew was in a serious relationship, popping out babies, and getting laid; while she remained a virgin. The only thing she could hold over them was that gravity would affect them first.

She welcomed the group and moved them along to leave her to her forced job. When she almost ripped of a kids head for asking about the restroom;

("How should I know, do I look like your mother?"

"Well I'm not.")

She began to think that giving her the job as a greeter when she was clearly a jaded and anti-social person might not have been Fred and George's brightest idea.

So it was with a relief sigh that she welcomed the last names on the list. She smiled at her two favorite people and had a happy dance in her head when she noticed the rings on the couples hands.

Hermione and Charlie had made up on her last Christmas break in Hogwarts. And after five years they had decided to marry quickly. And quickly they did. The event that made Hermione Granger a Weasley took place on New Year's Eve, and to the surprise of many it wasn't Ron Weasley who made it happen. It was a month after the wedding that Molly Weasley began to ask for a grandchild.

Almost a year had gone by and still no child had graced the couple, they seemed to want to wait and enjoy their time with each other. By the content smiles on the couples faces she knew that they were happy. She greeted both of them with a hug and watched Charlie walk into his former home and be greeted by Bill.

She smiled wistfully as she watched the numerous Weasley's through the windows. She felt a sense of pride as she looked at the people inside the house. They were her family. And she couldn't be happier. The only thing she needed was the last name and she looked toward Bill who was chuckling with his brothers.

She felt Hermione hug her around the shoulders and they shared a smile. They began to walk toward the structure that had survived seven births, two wars, and had welcomed them both and showed them that love was thicker than blood.

"We never did thank you, did we?"

Joan looked at Hermione with a confused face.

" What do you mean?"

"Charlie and I never thanked you for getting us together."

"But… I really didn't. All you guys needed was a little push!"

" Yes, but we were both two stubborn to make that step. If it wasn't for your intervention and big mouth Charlie and I would still be fighting our feelings."

"I bet Crookshanks doesn't appreciate it, and….I do not have a big mouth!"

And she heard Charlie and Bill brake off into belly laughs. She glared at Bill and thought,

"_Oh, you are so getting jumped."_

Hermione walked into Charlie's arms and smiled as they looked into each others eyes. She felt a feeling of happiness and contentment, she was finally happy and her future with Charlie looked promising. She giggled when Charlie hugged her tighter and kissed her passionately.

She vaguely heard Bill laugh when Joan muttered,

"Showoffs."

And the Christmas lights blinked on.

_**The End**_

_**Author's Note: **__So I hope you enjoyed and again thanks to all of you who followed me and review. I hope you enjoyed reading this story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Much love. Mimi!_


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